One college basketball insider’s take on AJ Lawson’s NBA Draft chances
Stadium’s Jeff Goodman is as plugged in as anyone in the college basketball landscape.
This week he took a look at he players who have declared early for the NBA Draft, and he had a rather harsh critique for South Carolina guard/wing A.J. Lawson.
Goodman put the Gamecocks’ leading scorer in a large category of “Unlikely to Be Drafted (aka Should Absolutely Return).“ A total of 163 early entrants put their name into the draft, with Lawson taking until the final day to officially decide.
Goodman had USC coach Frank Martin on his podcast during the coronavirus pandemic and in recent years has broken news Martin was linked to several job searches.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony also recently told The State that Lawson would likely have to make a strong impression in the pre-draft process for a chance to get picked, and the pandemic will likely put a decided damper on much of the process.
Martin said Friday he encouraged his player to test the waters if they’re looking for more information. Lawson still has the chance to return, and has until June to make that decision.
“He felt that he needed more time to keep gathering information to make the best decision that he can possibly make,” Martin said. “So I’m in full support of these young men making these decisions.”
The 6-foot-6 guard/wing came into the season with expectations to take a next step and make himself a likely NBA draft pick. He did lead the Gamecocks in scoring with 13.4 points per game. After being considered a candidate to play point guard, he slid into more of a wing role.
Should he return, the Gamecocks will have almost every rotation guard and forward from last season back, having only lost star center/forward Maik Kotsar and transfer guard Jair Bolden.
